Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I started raising questions because there is nothing I hate more than legislation that is not adhered to. The Minister said she is "aware that many Departments are not fully compliant with the current 30-year rule". We are moving to a 20-year rule now even though the law as it stands under the 30-year rule is not being implemented.

I understand the Department occasionally has been laggardly in getting its records in on time. With various legislative measures passed by the Houses, enforcement is less than optimum. The more we pass legislation that places impossible expectations on people, the less respect there will be for the law, as more people will disobey it and we will be chasing the game all of the time. I would rather that we pass a little less and obey it than pass much more and have people not bothering with it or the Oireachtas. Maybe the Minister will focus on the question of whether there should be a sanction on Departments that do not comply with the law.

Out of curiosity, is every record of everything that is done given to the National Archives or is there a distillation? With the invention of e-mail, I imagine that files are getting thicker quicker.